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Board reviews 'Invest to Play' plan to reinstate optional athletics fees with waivers and donation options
Summary
District staff described a proposed 'Invest to Play' program to allow suggested fees for high-school athletics, automated waiver options, and a donation portal so families and community members can support participation.
The Tigard-Tualatin School District presented a proposal to reintroduce optional athletics fees under a new model called "Invest to Play," designed to preserve access while recapturing voluntary revenue to support officials, transportation and other program costs.
Staff told the board that the district last collected fees in 2018'19, when maximum receipts were about $276,000 and the average collection per athlete was about $144.15. District athletic directors reported increased costs for transportation and game officials since that time. When district fees were removed, staff said they did not see a large increase in participation, and some coaches and programs now fill budget gaps through fundraising.
Invest to Play would be a hybrid approach: a suggested fee structure with a graphic user interface (GUI) for registration, tiered suggested amounts (for example 25%, 50%, 75%, 100% of a suggested fee) and an opt-out or waiver process that protects students from being excluded for inability to pay. Staff emphasized that no student should be prevented from participating because of financial hardship.
The plan also includes a donation portal that would let families or community members sponsor individual students or contribute to specific programs (marching band, athletics, etc.). Staff are evaluating registration systems that can provide the GUI, automate partial- and full-waiver processing and allow donors to select target accounts.
Board members asked about fundraising currently done by booster groups and clubs and raised privacy concerns when fundraising is informal. Director Miles and others said official district-managed opt-in fees with confidential waiver processes could make support fairer and reduce visibility of who pays. The board also discussed how fees were capped historically (family caps were described in the previous fee schedule) and asked staff to return with specifics about fee levels, implementation software and privacy protections.
Staff said the district will not reintroduce fees until a user-friendly system and confidential waiver process are in place and that no student would be turned away for inability to pay.
